First published in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, Magic was the first trading card game produced and it continues to thrive, with approximately twenty million players as of 2015.

When I was about 14 or 15, this game came out. Magic the Gathering. I was already a huge geek, and when this game came out I was all in.

Starting with the original series, I played for many years. Then I joined the military. I was a little too busy to play as much as I liked but occasionally found time to play a hand or two or even manage to scramble a D&D group together.

After I got out of the service, Magic fell to the way side. Work and family took priority. Now that my son is older and I own my own company, I have the ability for more leisure time. BOOM! Magic came back into my life. I had forgotten how thrilling it was to get a booster pack and open it!

Almost like a child on Christmas day, the sheer anticipation of what cards you are going to get is an addictive feeling. Creating decks out of cards you pull from packs, coming up with new strategies to beat your opponent; it's a challenging and rewarding hobby.

However with all things, there is a down side. You can only play casual MTG for so long before you get pulled into the realm of tournaments. And here is where MTG has changed over the years, and not for the better I fear.

Apparently, there are two types of MTG players I have noticed.

Players like me, who take time to put together decks on our own, formulating stratagems, coming up with new ideas, concepts and even 'Themed' decks. This, I recently discovered is known as "Home Brew" decks. Sounds harmless right? Wrong. Apparently players like me are largely looked down upon by the MTG Elitist cliques.

These 'Cliques' are known as "Net Deckers". A Net Decker is someone who carbon copies championship decks from the internet, or mirrors other successful decks almost verbatim. "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." one player told me at a recent tournament. Now, I see nothing wrong with wanting to perfect your game play, in fact I encourage it. But being a bully about how better you are than other players, while doing it? THAT I have a problem with.

​Hell, I'd have a problem with a Home Brewer being a bully, and would be the first to speak out against it. But I haven't seen that, YET.

It's not the fact that people are unoriginal and can't utilize their own imaginations to create something on their own that bothers me (it does a little actually); it's the attitudes and social inept behavior that comes with it. Magic used to be about fun, and friendship and creativity. Sadly as I have become witness as of late, it's largely about the gratification of the win at any cost.

Now I am not saying that this is ALL MTG players by any means, however it does seem to pollute many tournaments and game stores I attend. When I see a grown man defeat a kid and rub the kids face in it calling him a "faggot", we have issues.

Yes, that actually happened. It took every ounce of pissed off Veteran restraint I had not to take the guy outside and put my foot upside his head. Like, Really dude? You're a grown man! You carbon copied a blue/green crush deck from the 2016 Standard World Championship to beat a kid, and then you act LIKE THAT? You're a piece of crap dude, and I hope you get to read this article.

Bullying has become a serious problem in the realm of MTG. I have seen new players, female players and even veteran players all treated like filth by the "Net Decking" elite. Shame on all of you. God Forbid you create something on your own.

None of this is MTG's or Wizards fault. It is the fault of society en masse. And like any problem, the way to fix it is to realize that there is a problem. I love MTG, I play every chance I get. The MTG elite can keep their Net Decks. I'll create my own Home Brew decks and have fun. The way that Magic The Gathering was MEANT to be played since the beginning.

I completely agree, and this is the reason I never have and never will play a MTG tournament. I love playing at home with friends, though.

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Michael Runco

13/11/2016 08:48:55

Since I have also restarted my MTG hobby I have not played any tournaments, I'm sad to hear that is a problem now. I'm quite old and the last time I was playing this game there was no real internet resource where people could copy winning deck combinations. Having said that I see nothing wrong with it, only the way a pompous arrogant individual acts at the gaming table. There should be people watching over the actions of individuals to maintain a friendly atmosphere. The young people coming into this game insure it's future and its success.

Ah, when your friend is quoted as "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." As a quick aside, he's actually a nice guy, but just likes to win, even if he does love some BS combos. For further reference, I'll just refer to him as Blackjack. :)

As we talked about that day, and the following day when I met you at the shop with my wife, I'm a big Home Brew person. I feel that Home Brew can also be very viable in a tournament format. Sure, it takes a lot more work, but having a rouge deck come from nowhere is always a great feeling.

I will be fair, though, and will admit to a little bit of dirt rubbing when I have a Home Brew beat a Netdeck in a tournament and the opponent looks a bit salty. When you beat the guy with the $1000+ Eldrazi deck with some weird defender hybrid, I feel it is rightfully deserved, especially when they throw a tantrum and chock it all to luck, bad draws, etc, and try and take away the legitimate win from you. Blackjack also gave the salty player a little hell as well since he had such a crappy attitude about losing to a rouge deck.

From here, I guess I see two types of the Netdeck community. There are those that just like to play with the newest and shinny toys. Sure, they like to win, but they also like being bleeding edge and maybe want to go with something with a more concrete strategy. They may find the deck fun or really like the combo. They can be great, through frustrating, opponents.

The others are the uber competitive. These are the kind that are actively looking for you to mess up, will call judges at the drop of the hat, and are generally cutthroat about it. Winning is all it is about. These are the types that only seem to enjoy the game while they are winning. Heck, it can even be argued if they enjoy the game at all.

Blackjack is one of those former gamers. He is pretty gracious when he wins and when he loses. He's tough to play against, but he knows that criticism about how he plays is fair. He also has a list of casual decks, but when a prize is on the line, he likes a slightly more sure thing. These players I don't mind and embrace. They give creative feedback on deck construction and are generally encouraging.

But, yeah, calling a 9 year old vulgarities has no place in this hobby. I'd have beaten his face in and pulled my trusty PTSD card out of the deck. End of story.

Reply

Eric

15/11/2016 11:38:36

Ah, when your friend is quoted as "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." As a quick aside, he's actually a nice guy, but just likes to win, even if he does love some BS combos. For further reference, I'll just refer to him as Blackjack. :)

As we talked about that day, and the following day when I met you at the shop with my wife, I'm a big Home Brew person. I feel that Home Brew can also be very viable in a tournament format. Sure, it takes a lot more work, but having a rouge deck come from nowhere is always a great feeling.

I will be fair, though, and will admit to a little bit of dirt rubbing when I have a Home Brew beat a Netdeck in a tournament and the opponent looks a bit salty. When you beat the guy with the $1000+ Eldrazi deck with some weird defender hybrid, I feel it is rightfully deserved, especially when they throw a tantrum and chock it all to luck, bad draws, etc, and try and take away the legitimate win from you. Blackjack also gave the salty player a little hell as well since he had such a crappy attitude about losing to a rouge deck.

From here, I guess I see two types of the Netdeck community. There are those that just like to play with the newest and shinny toys. Sure, they like to win, but they also like being bleeding edge and maybe want to go with something with a more concrete strategy. They may find the deck fun or really like the combo. They can be great, through frustrating, opponents.

The others are the uber competitive. These are the kind that are actively looking for you to mess up, will call judges at the drop of the hat, and are generally cutthroat about it. Winning is all it is about. These are the types that only seem to enjoy the game while they are winning. Heck, it can even be argued if they enjoy the game at all.

Blackjack is one of those former gamers. He is pretty gracious when he wins and when he loses. He's tough to play against, but he knows that criticism about how he plays is fair. He also has a list of casual decks, but when a prize is on the line, he likes a slightly more sure thing. These players I don't mind and embrace. They give creative feedback on deck construction and are generally encouraging.

But, yeah, calling a 9 year old vulgarities has no place in this hobby. I'd have beaten his face in and pulled my trusty PTSD card out of the deck. End of story.

Reply

Eric

15/11/2016 11:38:59

Ah, when your friend is quoted as "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." As a quick aside, he's actually a nice guy, but just likes to win, even if he does love some BS combos. For further reference, I'll just refer to him as Blackjack. :)

As we talked about that day, and the following day when I met you at the shop with my wife, I'm a big Home Brew person. I feel that Home Brew can also be very viable in a tournament format. Sure, it takes a lot more work, but having a rouge deck come from nowhere is always a great feeling.

I will be fair, though, and will admit to a little bit of dirt rubbing when I have a Home Brew beat a Netdeck in a tournament and the opponent looks a bit salty. When you beat the guy with the $1000+ Eldrazi deck with some weird defender hybrid, I feel it is rightfully deserved, especially when they throw a tantrum and chock it all to luck, bad draws, etc, and try and take away the legitimate win from you. Blackjack also gave the salty player a little hell as well since he had such a crappy attitude about losing to a rouge deck.

Reply

Eric

15/11/2016 11:40:20

Tried to post a comment on here, but I feel it might be a bit long, is there a line/character limit?

Reply

Eric MacCallum

15/11/2016 11:40:46

Ah, when your friend is quoted as "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." As a quick aside, he's actually a nice guy, but just likes to win, even if he does love some BS combos. For further reference, I'll just refer to him as Blackjack. :)

As we talked about that day, and the following day when I met you at the shop with my wife, I'm a big Home Brew person. I feel that Home Brew can also be very viable in a tournament format. Sure, it takes a lot more work, but having a rouge deck come from nowhere is always a great feeling.

I will be fair, though, and will admit to a little bit of dirt rubbing when I have a Home Brew beat a Netdeck in a tournament and the opponent looks a bit salty. When you beat the guy with the $1000+ Eldrazi deck with some weird defender hybrid, I feel it is rightfully deserved, especially when they throw a tantrum and chock it all to luck, bad draws, etc, and try and take away the legitimate win from you. Blackjack also gave the salty player a little hell as well since he had such a crappy attitude about losing to a rouge deck.

From here, I guess I see two types of the Netdeck community. There are those that just like to play with the newest and shinny toys. Sure, they like to win, but they also like being bleeding edge and maybe want to go with something with a more concrete strategy. They may find the deck fun or really like the combo. They can be great, through frustrating, opponents.

The others are the uber competitive. These are the kind that are actively looking for you to mess up, will call judges at the drop of the hat, and are generally cutthroat about it. Winning is all it is about. These are the types that only seem to enjoy the game while they are winning. Heck, it can even be argued if they enjoy the game at all.

Blackjack is one of those former gamers. He is pretty gracious when he wins and when he loses. He's tough to play against, but he knows that criticism about how he plays is fair. He also has a list of casual decks, but when a prize is on the line, he likes a slightly more sure thing. These players I don't mind and embrace. They give creative feedback on deck construction and are generally encouraging.

But, yeah, calling a 9 year old vulgarities has no place in this hobby. I'd have beaten his face in and pulled my trusty PTSD card out of the deck. End of story.

Reply

Eric MacCallum

15/11/2016 11:41:24

Ah, when your friend is quoted as "It guarantees I have a better chance at winning..." As a quick aside, he's actually a nice guy, but just likes to win, even if he does love some BS combos. For further reference, I'll just refer to him as Blackjack. :)

As we talked about that day, and the following day when I met you at the shop with my wife, I'm a big Home Brew person. I feel that Home Brew can also be very viable in a tournament format. Sure, it takes a lot more work, but having a rouge deck come from nowhere is always a great feeling.

I will be fair, though, and will admit to a little bit of dirt rubbing when I have a Home Brew beat a Netdeck in a tournament and the opponent looks a bit salty. When you beat the guy with the $1000+ Eldrazi deck with some weird defender hybrid, I feel it is rightfully deserved, especially when they throw a tantrum and chock it all to luck, bad draws, etc, and try and take away the legitimate win from you. Blackjack also gave the salty player a little hell as well since he had such a crappy attitude about losing to a rouge deck.

From here, I guess I see two types of the Netdeck community. There are those that just like to play with the newest and shinny toys. Sure, they like to win, but they also like being bleeding edge and maybe want to go with something with a more concrete strategy. They may find the deck fun or really like the combo. They can be great, through frustrating, opponents.

The others are the uber competitive. These are the kind that are actively looking for you to mess up, will call judges at the drop of the hat, and are generally cutthroat about it. Winning is all it is about. These are the types that only seem to enjoy the game while they are winning. Heck, it can even be argued if they enjoy the game at all.

Blackjack is one of those former gamers. He is pretty gracious when he wins and when he loses. He's tough to play against, but he knows that criticism about how he plays is fair. He also has a list of casual decks, but when a prize is on the line, he likes a slightly more sure thing. These players I don't mind and embrace. They give creative feedback on deck construction and are generally encouraging.

But, yeah, calling a 9 year old vulgarities has no place in this hobby. I'd have beaten his face in and pulled my trusty PTSD card out of the deck. End of story.

Reply

Eric

15/11/2016 11:42:33

Wow, so yeah, please delete a few of those. It said there was an error posting the comment so I tried again a few times. I tried refreshing the page and then they all popped up. Sorry! :(

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